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Dad's Day Losing Ground to Mom, according to NRF Survey
May 23, 2005
Even though consumers' wallets won't be opening quite as wide for Father’s Day as they were for Mother’s Day, Dad will not be hurting for attention. The 2005 Father's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF, found that 73 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Father's Day on June 19. Those who do celebrate will spend an average of $85.66, down slightly from $86.19 last year.
Total Father's Day spending is expected to increase, due in part to population changes, reaching $8.23 billion (up from $8.04 billion in 2004). By comparison, consumers spent $11.25 billion on Mother's Day this year, with the average consumer spending $104.63. This is a relatively new trend, as just two years ago consumers spent more on Dad ($99.65 on average) than Mom ($97.37).
While Dads can expect to receive a variety of gifts, greeting cards remain a holiday favorite with nearly two-thirds (70.9 percent) of consumers planning on purchasing at least one card. Other popular gifts will include clothing (31.6%), gift certificates and gift cards (24.1%), books or CDs (22.8%), electronics or computer related accessories (12.5%), and tools or appliances (12.2%). In addition, nearly half of all consumers (41.1%) will pay tribute to Dad with a special outing, such as brunch or dinner.
"Dad tends to be more low maintenance than Mom," said Tracy Mullin, NRF President and CEO. "While moms love to receive luxury items, such as jewelry or a trip to the spa, dads are happy with an afternoon barbeque or watching the ballgame without distraction."
According to the survey, nearly three-quarters (74.7%) of consumers plan to spend as much on dad as they did last year. Women lead the pack, spending an average of $91.46 this Father's Day (up from $89.77 in 2004), as many women will be purchasing gifts for both their fathers and husbands. The average male plans to spend $79.42, slightly less than $82.19 in 2004.
"When it comes to shopping for their fathers, people buy more practical gifts," sad Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy, BIGresearch. "Clothes, appliances and even a special meal still remain holiday favorites."
Though women are expected to spend more, they will remain frugal, with 41.1 percent planning to head to discount stores to find that perfect gift for dad (32.2 % of men). Of total shoppers, 36.8 percent will shop at discount stores, 35.9 percent plan to shop at department stores, and 29.4 percent at specialty stores, including gift stores, card shops and electronics stores. In addition, more people plan to buy Dad's gifts online this year than one year ago (16.7% vs.15.9%).
About the Survey
The NRF 2005 Father's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Father's Day holiday. The survey was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 8,155 consumers was conducted from May 4-11. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.
BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch's syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet and independent stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 23 million employees--about one in five American workers--and 2004 sales of $4.1 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.
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